The consumption of dog and cat meat in South Korea, where it is known as “Gaegogi” has a long history in that country, as well as that of other East Asian cultures. In recent years, it has been controversial both in South Korea and around the world, due to animal rights and sanitary concerns. Dog meat is also consumed in North Korea, but the extent or form of this activity is currently unclear.

Dogs and cats are loaded into small rusty cages sometimes 25 at a time from which they await the executioner. Dogs and cats are consumed in Korea for their supposedly medicinal properties that has no proven evidence at all to back these claims up.

Cat juice better referred to as goyangi is also another hideous and appalling method of slaughtering felines. Goyangi – Cat; is mashed into a liquid. Then drunk as a tonic in the hope it will cure some human ailment or make one much stronger.

Say No To Dog Meat are campaigning via many ways from which we aim to raise before 2015 at least one million signatures in an attempt to close this market down and/or remove dog and cat meat of the menu for good, and increasing animal welfare laws. Say No To Dog Meat’s 7 Point plan that will be addressed to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and President of South Korea is listed below.

7 point plan to aid animal welfare / introduction off new legislation;

1. Removal off dog and cat meat/ tonic from restaurant menus within South Korea.

2. Moran meat market; to remove all dogs and cats and allow welfare officers in to aid ill and dying animals, alleviate any suffering and re-home remaining animals. Whilst this would be a colossal operation dog and cat fosters/adopters and/or/ re-homing centres to be increased in size to allow for any excess over flow off dog and cats that are taken from the market.

6. Whilst it is still seen by some that dog and cat meat consumption is culture, we as millennium citizens can now rightfully state that South Korea can adequately provide alternative and healthier forms of dietary needs for its people and foreigners. We call on the Culture and Tourism Minister – Yoo Jin-ryong as well as President Park Geun-hye to now engage animal and conservation organisations to adopt a programme thus creating awareness and education that will push people to healthier alternatives and provide more vegetarianism, safer and environmentally friendly foods.

7. Say No To Dog Meat.Net is fighting to end the barbaric dog and meat trade, however as an animal welfare organisation it is our responsibility to now push for higher “all animal” welfare laws, standards and provisions. We call upon the now and future presidents of South Korea to adopt more stringent and tougher animal welfare laws thus reducing neglect, abuse, hording, and inhumane slaughter.

We ask you the citizens off Mother Nature to support this petition to the highest extent. You’re support will not only provide a better and humane standard of welfare to canine and felines but also strengthen existing laws for other animals within the agricultural trade and slaughter houses too.

Whilst we see that meat consumption is never going to end, we must at least push for more tougher animal welfare laws in the farming sector and within the slaughter house in the hope that one day our constant badgering will set all animals free. South Korea and Korea as a whole will be a tough battle for us and you. By ignoring other areas we are failing in our duty and mission statement to aid welfare.

Say No To Dog Meat.Net officers have been actively monitoring the dog and cat meat trade for the past decade. We have started this petiton and now officially registrating our Non Governmental Organisation due to the horrifc and barbaric nature in which dogs and cats are treated within South and North Korea. We can no longer allow this to go on. The consumption of dog and cat is not culture, and has never proved to be of any medicinal cure for any ailment. Please view our site on fact and myth here.

By signing this petition you are helping us to provide a better standard off welfare for both our companion animals, and agricultural animals too. You signature counts in the hope that sooner rather than later we can put this myth off (cruel culture) to bed. By helping us, you are helping the voiceless.

Please sign and share and lets stop this now. You can also help by clicking the video link after signing here and signing the Humane Society off the United States petition.

When you have signed, your signature does count. We have placed all contacts to the Korean President and Culture Minister from which will view our letter and seven point plan everytime someone signs. We will also be adding more people to this petition to gain a higher chance off making change happen

With fall’s arrival, mushrooms have been popping up all over. And as you might expect, there’s been a sharp increase in reports of people poisoned by eating wild mushrooms.

When we recently tweeted the blog entry below about dealing with poisonous mushrooms, it ended up being one of our most popular tweets ever.

Mushrooms are among the most mysterious of life forms. Some kinds are edible—and delicious. Others cause hallucinations and other psychological and perceptual effects, and have been used in spiritual rituals. Many species are unstudied, their ingestibility unknown. And a number of species contain dangerous toxins, many of which are not yet fully understood.

Every year poison centers and emergency rooms treat people who have been poisoned or made ill by mushrooms. These range from people taking “magic mushrooms” for their hallucinogenic effects to gourmands who have tragically misidentified a species to toddlers who have swallowed mushrooms growing in the backyard.

Unfortunately, no simple test can determine whether a mushroom is edible or poisonous. The only way to be certain is to positively identify the species you have found. Only experience can teach you to recognize characteristics that differentiate edible species from poisonous ones, and with some species you cannot be too careful. Some mushroom hunters will even examine a mushroom’s spores microscopically to be sure their identification is correct.

In short, before you eat any wild mushroom, check every possible feature and clue, consult field guides or scientific literature, and be 100 percent sure of proper identification (consulting experts if necessary). Only those who truly know what they’re doing should even consider eating wild mushrooms. If any doubt remains about the edibility of a species, do not eat it.

Many mushrooms cause mild to severe poisoning, and only a few cause life-threatening illness. Some mushroom toxins affect the central nervous system, others the peripheral nervous system, and most cause mild to severe gastrointestinal upset. Some people react adversely to species that are harmless to most or to species that they have eaten before without ill effects.

Below is a list of mushroom toxins, some of the species that contain them, and a description of the symptoms known to occur. (This is not a comprehensive list of all poisonous mushrooms.) If you suspect you have mushroom poisoning, contact a poison control center (call 1-800-222-1222 or visit the American Association of Poison Control Centers website) and seek medical attention immediately. Bring along samples, preferably uncooked, of the mushrooms you have eaten.

Symptoms of this very dangerous toxin occur 6 to 24 hours (rarely 48 hours) after ingestion, typically in 10 to 14 hours. They include severe abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, lasting for one or more days. A short remission takes place, and the victim may believe he or she has recovered. By the third or fourth day, however, pain recurs, along with liver dysfunction, jaundice, renal failure, convulsions, coma, and without adequate treatment, death within five to ten days. With sustained medical assistance, recovery can take place in one to two weeks. Toxic amanitas have caused about 90 percent of all fatal mushroom poisonings, and 50 percent of those who ingest amanitin die. As a rule of thumb, do not eat any Amanita species, and be especially careful in identifying Amanita look-alikes or any other white mushrooms.

Symptoms occur 6 to 12 hours (rarely 2 hours) after ingestion. They include a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting, watery or bloody diarrhea, abdominal pains, muscle cramps, faintness, loss of coordination, and in severe cases convulsions, coma, and death. With medical attention, recovery can occur within hours. The toxin, also known as gyromitrin, develops a compound similar to one used in the manufacture of rocket fuel. It is advisable to avoid ingesting any false morels.

Toxin: Orellanin

Mushrooms: Cortinarius species, including C. gentilis and others.

Symptoms occur 3 to 14 days (rarely to 21 days) after ingestion, and ultimately result in acute or chronic renal failure, which can result in death. A kidney transplant is sometimes required, and recovery can take as long as six months. Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, thirst, frequent urination, and the sensation of being cold, accompanied by shivering. The seriousness of orellanin poisoning makes it advisable to avoid eating any “little brown mushrooms,” or LBM’s, that resemble Cortinarius species.

Symptoms occur within a half hour and include profuse perspiration, salivation, tears, blurred vision, tunnel vision, abdominal cramps, watery diarrhea, constriction of the pupils, a fall in blood pressure, and slowing of the pulse. Although symptoms usually subside in 6 to 24 hours, severe cases may require hospitalization, and death has been reported in people with preexisting illness.

Symptoms occur 30 minutes to 2 hours after ingestion. They include dizziness, lack of coordination, delusions, staggering, delirium, raving, profuse sweating, muscular cramps and spasms, hyperactivity, and deep sleep. Recovery usually takes place within 4 to 24 hours; some cases require hospitalization. Other Amanita species are implicated in most fatal mushroom poisonings, and it is wise to avoid this genus altogether. Be sure to positively identify any look-alike species before eating them.

Symptoms are precipitated by the ingestion of alcohol, as a substance in the mushroom inactivates an enzyme that detoxifies alcohol in the system. This effect can occur as long as five days after eating the mushrooms. Symptoms, usually occurring about 30 minutes after the alcohol is taken, include flushing of the face and neck, distension of neck veins, swelling and tingling of hands, a metallic taste in the mouth, palpitations, and a drop in blood pressure. Nausea, vomiting, and sweating may then occur. Recovery is spontaneous and usually occurs within 2 to 4 hours.

These are the toxins that give hallucinogenic mushrooms their effects. The reactions that result from ingesting these mushrooms vary considerably; none should be eaten casually. Symptoms occur within 30 to 60 minutes, rarely as long as 3 hours later. They include mood shifts, which can range from pleasant to apprehensive. Symptoms may often include unmotivated laughter, hilarity, compulsive movements, muscular weakness, drowsiness, visions, then sleep. Recovery usually takes place within six hours. The victim should be assured that the symptoms will pass.

Miscellaneous Toxins

Mushroom: Paxillus involutus

Symptoms occur one to three hours or more after ingestion. They result from a gradually acquired sensitivity to the species, and include destruction of red blood cells, vomiting, diarrhea, cardiovascular irregularity, and possibly kidney failure. They usually disappear in two to four days, but can last much longer in severe cases and may require hospitalization.

Mushroom: Amanita smithiana

Symptoms occur 4 to 11 hours after ingestion, and include abdominal pain and diarrhea, followed by kidney or liver failure. These poisonings are not well studied. They resemble orellanin poisonings, but the onset of symptoms is much quicker.

Gastrointestinal Toxins

A large number of mushrooms can cause gastrointestinal illness. Symptoms occur 30 minutes to 3 hours after ingestion. They include mild to serious and severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Recovery can take several hours or days, depending on the species, the amount eaten, and the health of the victim. Hospitalization is sometimes required.

Some edible mushrooms are also known to cause occasional adverse reactions, even in people who have eaten them before without any side effects. Symptoms occur within 2 hours. They include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Recovery usually takes place within a few hours.

So to sum it up— stay clear of wild mushrooms unless you’ve got expert advice and guidance. The stakes are too high to gamble with your health!

We’ve noticed lots of strange mushrooms recently here in the mid-Atlantic. And have had to keep the dogs from eating them…

Every year in France, thousands of Ortolan Buntings are poached, mutilated and killed in breach of EU and national laws. On Thursday 4 September, the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO, BirdLife in France) members went on the offensive, to liberate captured birds and make formal accusations against poachers to the French authorities.

The Ortolan Bunting is a migratory passerine, hunting of which is forbidden in Europe. However, it is regarded as a delicacy by French gourmets. During their stay in France along their migratory route, the little birds are poached by hunters in Landes, in the south-west of France, at the end of the summer.

Supporters of this tradition regard this practice as emblematic of a local culture with insignificant consequences. What they certainly don’t know is that the conservation status of Ortolan Bunting in Europe is considered very unfavourable and on the verge of extinction. Over the 30 last years, its European population has seen a 84% decline, making it become the European passerine which has declined the most in recent years.

In France, the species is particularly threatened: its population – now less than 15,000 pairs – has decreased 42% over the past 11 years. An important reason for this is believed to be poaching, which at one time was responsible for the disappearance of 50,000 individuals annually; this number is equivalent to 10 times the species population in Germany, Belgium or the Netherlands.

The Ortolan Bunting has been protected in France since 1999, under the Environmental Code which states that its destruction, transportation, use, sale or purchase is strictly forbidden; violations of this Code are subject to fines of €15,000. And yet, between 10,000 and 30,000 ortolan buntings continue to be captured, spoiling the conservation efforts undertaken by the EU to reverse the decline of the species.

To draw attention to the situation and urge the French authorities to take decisive action, the LPO launched a lightning strike on Thursday 4 September. At 7am, conservationists descended on poaching locations to free caged live decoy ortolans, which serve as bait to attract wild ortolans. The birds, which had been mutilated, were then presented to the French authorities.

Last year, the LPO alerted the European Commission to the situation in France. The Commission responded by sending a formal notice to the French government, requiring it to comply promptly with its obligations under Article 5 of the Birds Directive (2009/147/CE). In order to ensure that the case is not neglected, the LPO intends to inform the European Commission of the location of any poaching facilities throughout the poaching season, so that sanctions may be taken against France for infringing the EU legislation.

From the cage to the plate…

Traditionally, a live decoy ortolan is placed in a small fenced cage to attract its wild fellows with its chirping. When a bird approaches the trap, it is captured. It will then be fed for at least three weeks until it resembles a small fat ball. Once it reaches a certain weight, the unfortunate bird is then drowned in a French liquor called Armagnac, before being eaten or sold. In France, the price for such a peculiar “delicacy” easily reaches €150. Despite its illegality, some of the finest restaurants still offer it on their menus.

The UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH) states that rickets and gout—diseases of the bones and joints—are on the increase.

Poverty is the major factor in the return of such Victorian-era diseases, with poor diet leading to malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies. Figures from England and Wales indicate that there was a 19 percent increase in the number of people hospitalised for malnutrition in the last year.

The FPH’s Dr John Middleton said, “The vitamin deficiency states of gout, malnutrition being seen in hospital admission statistics are extreme manifestations of specific dietary deficiencies or excesses, but they are markers of a national diet which is poor. Food prices up 12%, fuel prices up double-figure percentages and wages down is a toxic combination, forcing more people to eat unhealthily.”

Obesity remains the largest problem as families are forced to eat cheap, highly processed foods. “GPs are reporting rickets anecdotally in Manchester, the East End of London, Birmingham and the West Midlands. It is a condition we believed should have died out.”

The statistics are based on a report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). It outlined how the latest figures on patients “paint a current picture of hospital admissions for some diseases that were widespread during the 19th and early 20th centuries.”

Admissions for gout had increased by a fifth since 2009-10 in England, with almost 5,800 admissions in the 12 months to April 2014. Previously considered a rich person’s disease, it is increasingly an indicator of poor diet and deprivation. The highest rate of admissions for gout was in Greater Manchester, at 15.0 per 100,000 population.

Tuberculosis (TB) is also on the rise, with London leading the way at a rate of 15.3 admissions per 100,000 population.

The rate of admissions for gout and TB were greatest in areas of deprivation. There were 13.5 gout admissions and 16.5 TB admissions per 100,000 population in the top 10 percent most deprived areas in the country, compared to 8.3 gout admissions and 1.4 TB admissions per 100,000 population in the 10 percent least deprived.

While malnutrition had fallen as the primary diagnosis for hospital admissions from 683 in 2012-13 to 612 in 2013/14, “during the same period there was an increase in overall admissions where malnutrition was a primary or secondary diagnosis, from 5,590 to 6,690.”

In the five years between 2009-10 and 2013-14 there had been a 71 percent rise in hospital admissions where malnutrition was a primary or secondary diagnosis, the HSCIC stated.

Writing in the Guardian, Middleton referenced the rise in other diseases, thought largely eradicated, such as whooping cough and measles. Their return is a “barometer of failure and neglect,” he said, “…a civilized nation with an advanced economy and health system should see some conditions as markers for the failure of its public health policies or services.”

The National Health Service (NHS) currently evaluates “never events”—serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents—as quality of care markers, he continued. “The time has perhaps come for us to develop never events in public health.”

TB and rickets must be regarded as such “never events,” Middleton warned. They are the “strongest markers of both Victorian disease and public health never events.”

Strikingly, hospital admissions for scarlet fever have doubled. “Historically scarlet fever is a disease of deprivation, tamed by antibiotics. It manifests long cyclical rises and falls over 40 years–the rise may be part of that cycle. But we should be concerned we are seeing a period of enforced deprivation, with the biggest cut in average wages since [Charles] Dickens’ era,” wrote Middleton.

By the general election in May 2015, workers’ wages are expected to have fallen by the greatest amount since the 1870s, just shortly after the death of Dickens, one of the most powerful literary chroniclers of poverty and deprivation in Victorian Britain.

The massive decline in wages is the twin result of the savage austerity measures introduced by the Conservative-led coalition and the efforts of employers to utilise the financial crisis to erode wages and conditions.

Welfare benefits have been slashed, leading to an explosion in the numbers having to rely on food bank charities to eat. The Trussell Trust reported that the numbers it supplied with emergency food had risen by 163 percent in the year to April 2014, meaning more than 900,000 people were dependent on aid to eat.

These include a large number of the working poor. The vast majority of Britain’s poor are in families headed by a working adult. In addition to declining wage rates, they have been hit by the government attack on benefits.

According to the housing charity Shelter, some 880,000 working parents in England skip meals to pay other bills. In addition, 37 percent of working parents reported having to cut back on buying food—some three million parents.

There has been a large increase also in the number of “breakfast clubs” providing school children with their first meal of the day. Carmel McConnell, of the Magic Breakfast charity, which provides free breakfasts to 8,500 schoolchildren, told the Guardian that teachers were expecting to see a “dramatic decline in the health of their pupils” as they return from their summer holidays.

“Teachers tell us they know even with free school meals it will take two to three weeks to get their kids back up to the weight they were at the end of the last school term because their families cannot afford the food during the holidays,” she said.